That was totally grim news from Norway over the weekend.

From many of the reports we are getting they do however seem to be handling the awful affair with much grace, dignity and good sense.
It is in times like these that the character of a nation can be hard-tested.  From what I have seen, they should be proud.

Foxy Knoxy may indeed go free soon:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ected.html

It appears the Italian police don't even adhere to standards the actors who play cops on CSI go by. Sheesh.

Mike B.

The most bizarre aspect of the Knox case is that she "confessed."

Police brow-beat Knox (whose Italian language skills were not very good at the time) until she "confessed" and signed a paper that said a local bar owner commited the crime.

Unfortunately, the local bar owner had an unbreakable alibi...he was tending bar all night and he was seen by many people doing so.  He is now suing Knox for libeling him.

SO...when the fingerprints, footprints, feces and blood at the scene turned out to be those of a known local burgular, the "confession" was simply re-applied in police minds with the burgular's name substituted for the previous, exonerated suspect.

People on the street in Perugia apparently still believe that Knox confessed in spite of the obvious problems with the document.  (As reported in Rolling Stone magazine.)

The burgular was given a lighter sentence in return for saying that Knox and her boyfriend were also involved.

The "case" against Knox and her boyfriend wouldn't have lasted five minutes in an American courtroom.  There is no motive, no opportunity, no weapon and no evidence other than the compromised "confession."

The knife that supposedly had DNA on it from Knox, her boyfriend and the victim was chosen at random by a police officer from the boyfriend's kitchen.  Seriously.  The boyfriend supposedly killed the victim with it and then put the murder weapon back in his kitchen for the police to find.  

Given that the knife was in the boyfriend's kitchen, the presence of his and Knox's DNA on the handle was completely irrelevant.  We would expect their DNA to be on a kitchen utensil.

Even a very very kind and generous reading of what happened to Knox makes the Italian justice system look ridiculous.  It's a national embarrassment for Italy and the sooner they can make it go away the better.

Knox is not home free yet.  Ironically, because the case makes the Italian legal system look so bad, the judge may choose not to throw out Knox's conviction and set her free.  A face-saving reduced sentence for both defendants is still a possible outcome, with Knox remaining in prison for years.

FormCritic wrote:The most bizarre aspect of the Knox case is that she "confessed."

Police brow-beat Knox (whose Italian language skills were not very good at the time) until she "confessed" and signed a paper that said a local bar owner commited the crime.

Unfortunately, the local bar owner had an unbreakable alibi...he was tending bar all night and he was seen by many people doing so.  He is now suing Knox for libeling him.

SO...when the fingerprints, footprints, feces and blood at the scene turned out to be those of a known local burgular, the "confession" was simply re-applied in police minds with the burgular's name substituted for the previous, exonerated suspect.

People on the street in Perugia apparently still believe that Knox confessed in spite of the obvious problems with the document.  (As reported in Rolling Stone magazine.)

The burgular was given a lighter sentence in return for saying that Knox and her boyfriend were also involved.

The "case" against Knox and her boyfriend wouldn't have lasted five minutes in an American courtroom.  There is no motive, no opportunity, no weapon and no evidence other than the compromised "confession."

The knife that supposedly had DNA on it from Knox, her boyfriend and the victim was chosen at random by a police officer from the boyfriend's kitchen.  Seriously.  The boyfriend supposedly killed the victim with it and then put the murder weapon back in his kitchen for the police to find.  

Given that the knife was in the boyfriend's kitchen, the presence of his and Knox's DNA on the handle was completely irrelevant.  We would expect their DNA to be on a kitchen utensil.

Even a very very kind and generous reading of what happened to Knox makes the Italian justice system look ridiculous.  It's a national embarrassment for Italy and the sooner they can make it go away the better.

Knox is not home free yet.  Ironically, because the case makes the Italian legal system look so bad, the judge may choose not to throw out Knox's conviction and set her free.  A face-saving reduced sentence for both defendants is still a possible outcome, with Knox remaining in prison for years.

I saw a BBC special in the Knox murder trial. It was the worst piece of propagandic bullshit I have ever watched in my life. Seriously, Triumph of the Will didn't even slant things as badly as this.  I'm assuming because the victim was british, they used the bully pulpit to concoct the worst kind of false case against Knox and try to make sense of it (failing miserably if you had half a mind).  I'm also assuming that's about the extent of most European's contact with the "facts" of this case.  

Once you examine the facts of the case, it's a wakeup call for all Americans traveling abroad.  I wouldn't visit Italy if I had an all expenses paid trip complete with full access to the Vatican's secret literature vault. It appears most foreign law services are about the level of Andy and Barney Fife in Mayberry, only Barney was smart enough to at least carry one bullet for his gun.

Mike B.

Badmike wrote:
Once you examine the facts of the case, it's a wakeup call for all Americans traveling abroad.  I wouldn't visit Italy if I had an all expenses paid trip complete with full access to the Vatican's secret literature vault. It appears most foreign law services are about the level of Andy and Barney Fife in Mayberry, only Barney was smart enough to at least carry one bullet for his gun.

Mike B.

My Italian isn't that good (and I haven't used it since I was last there years ago...), but I'd go back again in a heartbeat.

And I won't talk about what's in the Vatican's secret vaults...  

red_bus wrote:
Hey Mike, that would be a shame. I know that many Americans are chary of travelling outside of the US, but I think that a lot find when they do go and visit Europe they really like it.  And although here we do make jokes about American tourists, it is meant in gentle good humour and you guys are actually very welcome. Plus many Americans find they love travelling once they try it. You should give it a go.

I know several people who travel to all parts of Europe regularly and have never had any problems.  Keep your nose clean and 99.9% of the time you'll be fine.  Can't say the same for these two Brits though:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... under.html

What the hell these two were doing anywhere near El Paso is a mystery.  How they missed getting their visas renewed is also a bit strange.  If it had been me I would have been double-checking with customs before coming back into the U.S. from Canada to make sure I was good to go.  I do feel sorry for them though....you would think that someone with the border patrol would have thought that just maybe they were telling the truth and made a few calls before locking them up for five weeks.  I can only assume that the Mexican cartels dont normally employ 50 to 70 year old 'coke mules'.  

Kingofpain89 wrote:
I know several people who travel to all parts of Europe regularly and have never had any problems.  Keep your nose clean and 99.9% of the time you'll be fine.  Can't say the same for these two Brits though:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... under.html

What the hell these two were doing anywhere near El Paso is a mystery.  How they missed getting their visas renewed is also a bit strange.  If it had been me I would have been double-checking with customs before coming back into the U.S. from Canada to make sure I was good to go.  I do feel sorry for them though....you would think that someone with the border patrol would have thought that just maybe they were telling the truth and made a few calls before locking them up for five weeks.  I can only assume that the Mexican cartels dont normally employ 50 to 70 year old 'coke mules'.  

They probably didn't offer a big enough bribe to the border patrol agents.  But seriously....you think someone could have made a phone call here?  Sheesh. They have to have been the ONLY English speaking couple in the detention center  Then again, what happens in Britain when you overstay your visa?  I can't imagine it's wine and roses there, either.

Mike B.

Kingofpain89 wrote:
I know several people who travel to all parts of Europe regularly and have never had any problems.  Keep your nose clean and 99.9% of the time you'll be fine.  Can't say the same for these two Brits though:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... under.html

What the hell these two were doing anywhere near El Paso is a mystery

It appears that they were detained in El Paso because that is where the immigration detention center is located.

I am sorry for what they went through.  In fact, there have been caucasian terrorists and elderly drug mules.

I'm not saying what happened to them was funny....it was the result of American internal issues regarding terrorism and immigration.

Their complaints about the terrible conditions in the detention center actually do elicit a smile or two:

*  The toilet was in an open space. (You can probably guess why...)

* The showers were not private.

*  No sheets on the beds.

*  The rice wasn't cooked right.

*  The pizza wasn't good enough.

I don't blame them for being pissed.  Five weeks to resolve a misunderstanding over documents.  Five weeks locked up.  Not fun.

Badmike wrote:
Ok that part was a bit funny. I wonder if the couple complained because they didn't serve hot tea at the detention center...and at least they got out. There are a couple of dumb tourists still locked up in an Iranian prison for the last year because they apparently couldn't read a map correctly.

Mike B.

Dumb because they went anywhere near Iran.  Why?